David Villa to the EPL – Who’ll Take the Risk?

A Spanish player that currently holds the scoring record for a nation that also currently holds the World Cup, the European Championship, and has the opportunity to snag the Confederations Cup this summer is surely a player that would have a massive list of suitors, right? Well, David Villa currently finds himself sitting at the edge of the Barcelona starting eleven. The recent addition of Neymar and the growing proficiency of Pedro mean that the 31 year old striker may get even fewer appearances than what he saw in the last two campaigns. With that is mind, the prolific striker is looking towards England for a new home.

Anyone that would attempt to deny that there is still talent left within the locker of David Villa is insane. Despite being somewhat injury plagued and making most of his appearances from the bench, Villa notched twenty-five goals in sixty-four appearances over the last two seasons. Some EPL strikers would give their left legs to get that type of goal return in a cameo-type season. The only question has become which teams Villa would be willing to join and what type of price Barcelona will be placing on a departing Villa.

To me, Villa’s potential destination would have to be a team that has top-four ambitions or already has Champions League football. Anyone hoping to try and convince Villa to fight off relegation needs only to look at how quickly he left Valencia once they started to struggle. The man is also in the back-end of his career and he will be hoping to add a few more medals to his trophy case before he retires. With that in mind, the teams that would consider Villa and the teams that Villa would consider are probably Tottenham, Everton, Liverpool, and you can never rule out Manchester City.

Given those choices, here are the reasons to join each club and the reasons to NOT join each club. Everton is bringing in a manager in Martinez that Villa would enjoy working for, but Everton are also likely to be picked apart by clubs with bigger purses over the next few months. If Villa came in, he would probably be part of a rebuilding process- likelihood: 20%. Tottenham grew tired of no one being able to accompany Gareth Bale and they are also looking for a striker that can give their midfield plenty of room to operate. While Villa fits their ideas perfectly, seeing that Bale might be heading to Spain might give the Spanish player pause- likelihood: 40%. Liverpool fit into the scheme that Villa has been a part of for the last few seasons, but their purchase of Villa depends greatly on the future of Luis Suarez. If the Uruguayan leaves, this number jumps up- likelihood: 30%.

The remaining 10% just sits out there to be split among the other teams available, but Villa would definitely be a welcome addition to the EPL. He still has three/four years of top-flight football left in him, and last major Spanish striker to come to England set it on fire (Fernando Torres). Let’s hope that we see Villa dominating Premier League defenses in 2013/14.

About the author: Andrew McCole

If I may be so bold to condense my immense personality into two words, it would be: soccer nerd. I love everything about the beautiful game and I tend to reflect that in my writing. I suffer through Liverpool fandom and hope that they will win another title before my wife spreads my ashes at Anfield (considering I'm in my twenties, it seems somewhat likely). Although I also dabble in tennis, teaching, and coaching, most of my free-time is spent writing articles for The Center Circle! Feel free to stalk me on Google+